If you’ve been here awhile, you know I led a full main level remodel in the fall of 2018 which included a kitchen, living, dining, and half bathroom switcheroo. Truly, not a single space wasn’t altered nor had a wall changed. Imagine the decision fatigue I had by the end. HA!
I made the most neutral choices knowing full well that I would make adaptations to each space over time. One of those lacking spaces that missed ALL the character was our relocated half bathroom. I would define it as…”fine.”
I chose a pretty floor tile that spice things up, but other than that, there was nothing to this space. Basic fixtures, gray walls, and minimal wow.
It was high time to make this a more impactful room!
Tile Wall
My first step was to add this gorgeous Daltile beveled subway tile to the bottom 2/3 of the wall.
My installed baseboards already had a beveled top to them, making it impossible to lay tile above them without an unsightly overhang, so I incorporated one of my favorite hacks with an extra piece of trim.
Architecturally speaking, having a higher or more ornate baseboard gives the appearance of more craftsmanship and elegance. But that also typically requires a heftier price tag. To work around it, I like to choose a piece of trim that is detailed and FLIP IT OVER. I install it upside down roughly 2″ above my existing baseboard. Then I paint the trim, exposed wall in the middle and my current, installed baseboards all the same color. This gives the illusion of a tall, elegant baseboard with a small price tag.
This also allows my tile to sit on a flat surface at the top of my newly installed trim piece. Win-win!
See the Reel below for it in action.
To install your subway tile, I began directly in the center of my wall and worked my way out to the edges and then one the row above. Constantly check for the levelness of the tiles you are working with. At any point, if one tile is unlevel, the entire wall will end up in that manner if you aren’t careful.
I like MAPEI UltraFlex 1 White Thinset when working with a vertical tile installation. It adheres quickly and has minimal sliding once the tiles are installed. I chose to use 1/8″ spacers and finished it off with a white grout to keep it clean and subtle.
To eliminate any cut tiles at the top, I had marked an ideal stopping point on the wall, but went an inch over to allow for a full tile at the top. The beauty of installing tiles on just a portion of your wall, you don’t have a designated stopping point that you must work around. Stop when you want, when it looks good, or in my case, stop when you don’t have to cut any tops off the tiles!
Elegant, Yet Fun Wallpaper
The star of the show and the piece that brought the character and the thrill each time you open the door is the Milton & King French Floral wallpaper in Indigo Green Stripe I installed on the top 1/3 of the wall. I wanted something bold, yet elegant. Something bright and colorful, yet flowed well with the other colors in my home. Pretty, yet exciting. This wallpaper was all that and more.
But let’s rewind for a moment and discuss the brand Milton & King. This company has the most stunning array of trendy, globally-inspired wallpapers that you just can’t find anywhere else. It’s a boutique-like feel to each of the wallpapers with new collections continuously dropping that genuinely feel like art on your walls. Even better, all paper is printed in the United States with a lead time of just 4-5 days, and oh yeah, FREE SHIPPING. After ordering my wallpaper, it was delivered on my front porch within the week.
Now I am a DIYer with experience in installing wallpaper; however, even for someone that is wanting to install wallpaper for the very first time, Milton & King’s website is flooded with resources for you. Videos on step-by-step installation, blog posts solving common questions, and a question and answer portion all available to you. They genuinely want to help you. They want you to love the result. They go above and beyond when it comes to customer care, and to be honest, that is very hard to find anymore.
All of these reasons led me to sample three different patterns from their website that I was deciding between: French Floral in Indigo Green Stripe, Bespoke Cranes in Lilac, and Peacock wallpaper in Lemon. Samples were delivered quickly and I was able to put them up on the wall to feel the texture, see the colors, and imagine each one in my space. Although Peacock was a major fan favorite when I asked for opinions, I knew there was something magical with French Floral.
Since I now had a flat edge at the top of my tile, I installed this traditional wallpaper using a roller and wallpaper glue (this one is my favorite to work with!). Roll the glue directly to the wall and then to the back of the wallpaper. “Bookend” your ends over itself to the center and let it rest for about 2 minutes. Now line up your wallpaper to a level line, smooth out using a plastic putty knife (or a fancier wallpaper tool) and cut over your remnants at the top and bottom of your wall with a SHARP razor (I went through five razor blades in just this small half bathroom) and a straight edge.
Traditional wallpaper is my favorite to install because you can easily slide it around your wall to perfectly match your edges. With peel and stick, you have to pull up your wallpaper off your wall and undo all your previous work each time you have to adjust. It’s a pain and typically isn’t substantial enough to withstand a lot of readjustment.
I would say installing this French Floral print took me roughly three hours total with my starting and stopping during naptimes. If I had one block of time, I would say you are looking at 90-120 minutes of work in this size space, depending on experience.
This wallpaper made a dramatic difference in the look and the feel of this room. It brought color, excitement and fun to this space while also adorning my walls with a luxurious, durable wallpaper. I chose this design because I fell in love, and now that it’s up, I am even more smitten than I ever imagined.
Fixtures and Styling
Since I had so many polished chrome pieces in this space that were driving me absolutely up the wall, I wanted to upgrade to more curated pieces that matched the space and felt more like me. The first to go was the polished chrome faucet that I had nightmares over. I went into detail on this Reel on the five reasons why I changed out my faucet.
This Amazon brushed gold single faucet was a breeze to install and I love the “anti-fingerprint” finish, the handle that allows dirty hands to use the BACK of their hands to turn on (no more gunked up handles!), and the insane water pressure. Oh yeah, and it’s under $40!! It is able to be installed in a one-hole or three-hole sink by using the included plate that covers the other two holes, if necessary.
In addition, I added a beautiful art piece from Target,
this Etsy lake mountain print from Vivid Art Space that I put in this vintage-looking 8×10″ gold frame,
and finished off with this Vintage Ranch Landscape Oil print from Legacy Fine Arts Prints and put it inside my favorite poster frame.
And since we all need our tissues, but the boxes aren’t always the most aesthetically pleasing, I covered my tissue box with this leather cover from Amazon. Bye bye eye sore!
Beveled subway tile, stunning Milton & King wallpaper, combined with simple curated elements have turned this blah bathroom into a fun, elegant space that welcomes you in and quite simply makes you happy.
Follow along here at growingupkemper.com, on Instagram @growingupkemper, Pinterest @growingupkemper, and on LTK for all the attainable DIY, tips, tricks, and inspiration!
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